Justice.. Delivered

posted on 1/10/2011 12:35:00 PM

The minute I walked into Inox to watch 'No one killed Jessica', I was amused. Reason? The security lady refused to let me in as she refused to believe that I was above 18. She plainly refused to let me in until I showed some id proof. I usually carry around my fully loaded clutch, but on this particular day I just decided to stuff some cash in my pocket and venture out as this place is just like 15 minutes away from my place. So after some cajoling and my friend showing her work id they let us in. Phew! 18 and me?? I might look young, but definitely not 6 years younger than my actual age.

I have followed the Jessica Lall case albeit not very closely. But yes, the movie did live up to the original case. The beginning credits mention that the movie is part fiction, part fact. Oh yeah, it shows. The movie tells a simple tale in a simple way with powerful punches here and there. The story is rich and bombastic and moving to a certain extent. The first half of the movie rocks where Sabrina, played brilliantly by Vidya Balan dominates the screen. She's a stunner when it comes to her acting. She wears drab clothes and the 'behen ji' spectacles and is a perfect portrait of anguish and strength. I love her calm reaction when she declares in the ambulance, "She's gone. Jessica stopped breathing". The first time I shed a tear. For the movie that is. And her final breakdown at the end of the movie had me crying buckets. The only place this woman can be criticised is the fashion circuit because when it comes to acting she is top notch.

Post intermission, enter Meera, the feisty crass NDTV reporter who is just back after covering the Kargil war. The minute she enters the screen you realise that she is the fiction part of the story. With her OTT acting, smoking scenes and unnecessary swearing she brings in the unwanted drama into a neatly established movie. I still don't get the need for her almost making out scene with some random guy whom she dumps at the brink of the moment as she gets a phone call. And her 'Fly Solo' dialogue had me wanting to tear out her hair and mine. Its a pity that the director did not realise that screaming out 'Not sometimes, I'm always a bitch' doesn't make a wanna be bitch one. The dark garish spot on an otherwise neat movie. She drags the second half with her "fucking" dialogues and slowly but steadily starts grating your nerves.

Myra, the lady who plays Jessica is awesomely beautiful. She's a stunner and is the perfect contrast to her dressed down younger sister Sabrina. It actually hurts to watch her die. A special mention to Rajesh Sharma, who plays the police officer in Jessica's case. He's the only honest person who stands by Sabrina till the end although he accepts a bribe of 70 lakh just to not raise a hand on the culprit.

The actual accused Manu Sharma is replaced by a Manish Bharadwaj who does well in his minute role. Too many wanna be actors from Mtv's Roadies and Splitsvilla scattered throughout the movie. Vikram Jai Singh the prime witness in the case who turns hostile in the end does a good job. A good looking rascal indeed. He plays Shayan Munshi's role, the real life prime witness who didn't have the balls enough to stand up and testify while his friend was shot 5 inches away from him. I lost total respect for that bugger and no wonder his wife left him.

Since the movie has already been declared as a combination of fact and fiction, I did not understand why they claimed that the sting operations were conducted by NDTV. Weren't they conducted by Tehelka? The unpleasant mix of fact and fiction kinda confuses you. If you know nothing about the original case and are willing to bear the banal Rani Mukerji, this movie will be a treat for you. Unfortunately for me, I knew the characters way too well. From Bina Ramani, Shayan Munshi to Manu Sharma and Sabrina Lall and every other tale in between. Apart from the unwanted media drama, the movie does justice to the case. To some extent.

Hmm..Vidya Balan... one pretty lady with no fashion sense. What with those Maxi type dresses that she wore during the promotional events of the movie. I prefer her saree and 3/4th sleeves blouse look to that maxi appearence.

This happened with me in the US a couple of times. In a movie and in a wine bar. And to say I am above 30 :) Sure feels good, isnt it?

And I ditto your opinion on the movie. The swearing Rani was really irritating and she dint show any compassion towards Sabrina when she refuses to come for the candle light thing. Even if you are a gutsy woman, you have to understand psyche of the other individual and not be on the case all the time.

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